


Safe at Home

by lynnt1ny



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Carnival, Ferris Wheels, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Friends to Lovers, Halloween, Haunted Houses, How Do I Tag, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26938963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynnt1ny/pseuds/lynnt1ny
Summary: The Halloween fair had opened last night.Mingi remembered passing the whole spectacle on the way to his classes that morning. He remembered looking at the death rides and thinking to himself, 'well, thank god I’m far away from that monstrosity.' Frankly, he was terrified of everything about the fair. He had managed to avoid going for the past few years he had lived there, and he would like to keep that streak going, thank you very much.Which is why he felt so conflicted at the moment, with his (totally platonic) best friend clutching at his hands with a pleading look in his eyes.---Aka, Yunho drags Mingi to the city's Halloween fair, and shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi
Comments: 13
Kudos: 71





	Safe at Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is a small oneshot to test how ao3 works. My twitter is @lynnt1ny if anyone wants to go say hi! I didn't get this one beta read since it's so short, so please excuse any typos :/ 
> 
> (I’ve never written Yungi before, so some of it might feel out of character, sry)
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything in my writing is purely fictional!

The Halloween fair had opened last night.

The city always went all-out in the last few weeks of October. Every year, the set-up for the fair took up to a few weeks to prepare, as rides were built from pre-made pieces from years before, and haunted houses and mazes took up an entire block. At night, people living nearby prepared mugs of coffee (or whiskey) in advance, knowing that the screeches of people from the street would keep them awake until morning. But they were used to it— it was a city tradition at this point. 

Mingi remembered passing the whole spectacle on the way to his classes that morning. He remembered looking at the death rides and thinking to himself, _well, thank god I’m_ far _away from that monstrosity._ Frankly, he was terrified of everything about the fair. He had managed to avoid going for the past few years he had lived there, and he would like to keep that streak going, thank you very much.

Which is why he felt so conflicted at the moment, with his (totally platonic) best friend clutching at his hands with a pleading look in his eyes. 

“Yunho... “ Mingi started. He was hyper-aware of Yunho’s fingers threaded through his, and every slight movement threw him off balance. “Um, well.. You know I have college work to deal with. I just don’t think it’s the best idea.” 

Despite his usual laid-back personality, Mingi took his studies very seriously, and Yunho knew that. He hoped it would let him off the hook without Yunho cluing in to the real reason why he wouldn’t go. 

“First semester is very important. I can’t afford to let myself get behind.” 

Yunho only pressed him even more. “But Mingi-yah, it’s been so long since we’ve gone out together without the group, and this only happens once per year! I’m sure _one_ night can’t hurt.”

Mingi bit his lip in frustration. How could he ever say no to Yunho with him looking at Mingi like _that?_ He knew Yunho wouldn’t pressure him if he knew the real reason why Mingi didn’t want to go. Still, he didn’t want to admit that he was afraid of a few carnival rides and people dressed up in stupid clown costumes. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more idiotic he felt, himself. It couldn’t be _that_ bad, could it? Plus, it was extra time with Yunho...

Finally, he relented with a soft sigh. “Okay,” he muttered. “I’ll go with you, but only if you stick by me the whole time, alright?”

He thought the smile he got in return would make the whole thing worth it. 

-

Fast forward a few hours later and Mingi stood in front of his mirror, questioning his life decisions. 

Yunho was coming to pick him up in thirty minutes, and he had absolutely no idea what to wear. The obvious choice was to go casual, he thought. _Come on, Mingi, stop being so indecisive. It’s not like it’s a date.... right?_

But to be honest, the more he tried to convince himself otherwise, the more he couldn’t help but see this as a date. _I mean..._ Yunho made it clear that it would be just the two of them, and the Halloween fair was a well-known date spot. Plus, knowing Yunho, he would hold his hand to make sure they didn’t lose each other, and— 

Mingi cut off his thoughts and brushed a hand through his hair, grimacing down at the clothes strewn across the floor. He knew he’d get an ear-full if the others saw the state of his room. He’d definitely have to clean it before he invited anyone (Yunho) over. He glanced at the time on his phone; he’d worry about it some other time, he thought.

He ended up settling on a fairly simple outfit: A maroon cardigan draped over a neutral-colored shirt and a pair of black jeans. It was nothing _complicated_ , just like their meet-up- just two friends hanging out at the city fair… yeah. 

God, he was overthinking this. They used to hang out all the time, and nothing had really changed since then, unless you counted Mingi’s sudden gay awakening. Now, when he looked at his friend, all he could focus on was his lips, and his hands, and the happy lilt in his voice. Yunho was going to be the death of him tonight, and Mingi was going to make such a fool of himself. 

His phone lit up with an alert saying Yunho was almost there, and Mingi panicked for a second. _He’s almost here, he’s here, he’s.._

Mingi fixed his hair one last time before stuffing his phone and wallet into his pockets and rushing over to the door. 

Yunho was already waiting for him when he opened it.

“You look... nice,” Mingi said. He could only stare at Yunho’s goofy smile. He wore a dark sweater that contrasted nicely against his peach colored hair. 

“Hmm, so do you!” Yunho answered. His face lit up, and his smile was blinding. “I’m so excited! Last year, I went with Seonghwa and San, and it was _so much fun!_ ” 

Mingi didn’t understand what could be fun about getting scared shitless in front of god knows how many people go to the fair every night. He tried to build up some false confidence, though. Hopefully Yunho wouldn’t be able to see through it. 

“Yeah! It does sound fun.” 

The sun had begun to set, and it was already pretty dark out as they set off in the direction of the fair. It was close enough to walk to, and Mingi could already hear the loud clamor of people in the area. 

He did have to admit that the fair looked amazing at night. From a distance, he could see the bright lights lining the booths, and the rides made him feel dizzy already. In the distance, he could see a ferris wheel towering over it all. 

“—missed hanging out with you,” Yunho was saying. Mingi had completely missed the first part of the conversation. “I know you’re busy with school and everything, but make sure you don’t forget about me, alright?” Yunho said. He smiled over at him.

Mingi couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of it. Lately, all he could _think_ about was Yunho. How could he _forget_ him with his voice constantly playing on loop in his head?

“You should come over more often, then,” Mingi said. “I could use the company.” 

“Hmm, I might take you up on that offer.” 

As they grew closer, Mingi could hear an accordion tune playing from the speakers, its notes distorted to give an eerie effect. Even before they entered, he saw people wandering around in bloodied costumes, a few donning clown masks, others in monstrous sfx makeup. They stalked the crowd in character and scared away those who came close. 

Passing through the entrance, Mingi instinctively grabbed at Yunho’s hand. Yunho gave him a questioning glance with his lips tilted upward. 

“Um, so we don’t get swept away in the crowd,” Mingi mumbled, heat rushing up to his cheeks. 

Yunho swung their arms back and forth as they walked, humming a tune under his breath. “We’re too tall to get lost.” 

Mingi let out a bark of laughter. “One can never be too safe,” he said.

They wandered around aimlessly until Yunho found an indoor “haunted” maze he wanted to try. “I went through one of these last year,” Yunho said. “San wouldn’t stop screaming, and it was great.” 

Once again, Mingi couldn’t figure out how getting lost in a house while people jumped out at you could be “fun,” but it was Yunho, so he let himself be pulled in. 

-

They found themselves in a thin passageway, surrounded by dark fabric draped down to the floor and eerie music playing through the speakers. Yunho walked ahead of him, and they continued forward in single file. 

“This doesn’t seem _too_ bad,” Mingi muttered. Further in, despite the (extremely) dim lighting, he could see thin tendrils of smoke wrapping around their ankles. They had yet to see anyone else, and Mingi nervously grabbed onto the back of Yunho’s sweater. Yunho jumped a little, but he smiled when he saw that it was Mingi. 

“I don’t think we’re there yet, Mingi,” Yunho said. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, they haven’t taken our money yet, so this probably just leads us to the entrance.”

“Oh.” 

They walked into a small room adorned with red tinted lights. A man sat at a small table with a sign that read “$10 Admission. Enter at own risk.” He wore a business suit and his face was covered in skull sfx makeup. Mingi reluctantly handed him the money, and they were ushered in. 

They walked into a hallway with multiple closed doors around them. The house almost had a vintage feel to it, with cheap lights flickering above them and wallpaper peeling away to reveal words scratched into the wall. Faintly, he could hear screams behind the doors around them. 

_This was a horrible, horrible idea._

Yunho marched forward, and Mingi could only marvel at his confidence. He caught up to him and grabbed his sweater again, warily looking ahead over Yunho’s shoulder. 

A scream from behind a door next to Mingi made him shout, and Yunho covered his own mouth to keep the laughter in. 

“Hehe, I knew this was going to be fun,” Yunho said, and Mingi stared at him in disbelief. 

They explored around a bit, running into a few other visitors along the way. Mingi let Yunho peek through doorways first, avoiding the ones with screams emanating from them. He couldn’t help but notice that the further they ventured, the bloodier the walls around them became. 

Eventually, they found themselves in what Mingi could only assume was the final hallway. It stretched far, and instead of another door, the end was marked by a black curtain.

“Thank god we’re ou—” 

Abruptly, a door behind them crashed down and Mingi screamed as a man wildly brandishing a chainsaw started running at them. Mingi pushed Yunho ahead of him, screeching. “Go, go, _go!”_

Mingi felt his heart pumping, and he knew he was shouting a lot, but what else was he _supposed_ to do? There was a man with a _chainsaw_ chasing them down a corridor with fake bloodstains littering the walls. 

They pushed through the curtain and were immediately swamped back in darkness. It felt much like the first passageway they walked through before they paid to get in, except now, Mingi could hear people shuffling around in the darkness. 

Yunho pushed ahead, blindly brushing away dark curtains in their path. Mingi felt like they were just walking in circles, and every nearby sound made him jump. Suddenly, he heard something _way_ too close for his liking, and he turned around to check behind him.

A grotesque figure loomed from the shadows and grabbed at Mingi’s cardigan, letting out shrill moans as it grew closer. 

Mingi let out an inhumane squawk and threw himself against Yunho’s back, watching the figure retreat away from them. He hid his face into the crook of Yunho’s shoulder, clutching at the sweater he wore. Yunho yelped before letting out a laugh as the material bunched up in Mingi’s fists. 

“You’re scarier than the actual people working here,” Yunho said, a note of endearment in his voice. “Come on, let’s keep walking.” 

Mingi let out a noncommittal hum. He didn’t want to move from where they stood. Even with all of the activity around him, the shuffling footsteps, and the eerie music blasting through the speakers, he felt safe with his arms around Yunho. He felt grounded with every inhale, nose against Yunho’s neck. 

_Is this weird?_ Mingi thought. _Should I stop? Am I making him uncomfortable?_

But Yunho didn’t pull away. Instead, Mingi felt a hand tentatively cover his own. “H-Hey, let’s go, so we can do something that doesn’t involve chainsaws, yeah?” Mingi heard Yunho say. 

Reluctantly, Mingi moved away and pulled Yunho into his side, a hand on his waist. “Um, is this okay?” he asked. He finally looked up to Yunho’s face, afraid of what he’d find, and what he saw made his face scrunch up in concern. “You okay?”

Yunho’s skin was flushed red to his neck, and despite the dim lighting, Mingi could tell that he was a shade darker than his hair. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. This is okay,” Yunho said. He pursed his lips, and it looked like he was about to say more when Mingi heard a clamor behind them. He quickly looked over his shoulder and saw another couple running towards them, and beyond them, something chasing them through the darkness. 

“Okay, okay, let’s go, let’s _go_ ,” Mingi said, pulling Yunho to move. 

-

After exiting the maze, they found a small shop at the end, selling cheap Halloween props and carnival food. Mingi bought a small cone of cotton candy that reminded him of Yunho’s hair (not that he wanted to eat Yunho’s hair, but it was the color, for fuck’s sake). He looked around for something to buy for Yunho, but before he could properly search, he felt Yunho tugging on his arm. 

“Hey, let’s go to the ferris wheel!”

Mingi looked up towards the sky and saw the ride near the back of the fair. He inwardly sighed in relief, thanking god that Yunho didn’t suggest a different maze or haunted house. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

Mingi let Yunho take his hand again and lead him to the attraction. On the way there, Mingi tossed his cotton candy cone in a bin, wrinkling his nose. 

“Too sweet?” Yunho asked. 

“Just a bit.”

The queue for the ferris wheel was super short, and before they knew it, Mingi and Yunho were stepping into a cart as it swayed slightly under their weight. They settled against each other, still hand in hand as they waited for it to move. 

Slowly, it began inching its way up, and Mingi laid his head on Yunho’s shoulder.

“Isn’t this nice?” Yunho said. He looked out over the city as the wheel stopped at the top. Mingi followed his gaze and almost gasped. Below, the fair stretched out in a dizzying array of lights, and beyond it, the city flickered alive. 

They sat there, marveling at the view. At some point, Mingi found himself staring over at Yunho instead, thinking that maybe coming to this fair _wasn’t_ the worst choice he had ever made.

But just as the wheel began to turn again, it jolted to a stop, the lights on the structure blinking out. They sat still, in silence, suspended in the air over two hundred feet.

“Is that... supposed to happen?” Yunho said. He frantically looked down at the ground and searched for the source of the disturbance. 

“Should have stayed safe at home,” Mingi muttered. “Even the ferris wheel is trying to attack us.”

“It’s a _Halloween_ fair. What’d you expect?” Yunho replied, trying to stay lighthearted. He squeezed Mingi’s hand as faint shouts drifted from below them. 

“Okay, okay…” Mingi mumbled, sucking in deep breaths. He wouldn’t say that he was usually afraid of heights, but only a psychopath would be calm in this situation. He remembered how just being close to Yunho had grounded him before, in the maze earlier. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to be _on_ the ground. Careful not to rock the cart, be shuffled closer to Yunho’s side. Yunho seemed to take the hint and let go of Mingi’s hand, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer. 

“It’s only a slight disturbance,” Yunho said. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself of it as well. “It’ll start back up in a minute, and we’ll be on the ground.” He hesitated for a second before pressing a soft kiss to the top of Mingi’s head, holding him close.

Mingi turned his head and looked up. He focused on Yunho instead of the drop below them. “You think?” 

“Yeah.” Yunho leaned in and kissed the top of Mingi’s forehead. “I got you.” 

Mingi’s heart hiccupped, and he could only stare at Yunho’s dark eyes. He felt his stomach turning in circles. 

The wheel lurched slightly, and Mingi pulled tighter onto Yunho. He hid his face back into Yunho’s neck, shutting his eyes. He felt a slight pressure on his head as Yunho whispered comforting words into his hair. 

It was probably only a few minutes, but it felt like hours when the lights came back on and the wheel started spinning again. 

-

Mingi bounced on his feet when they were safely off of the ride. He thought he’d never take the solid ground for granted again. 

Walking back into the crowded streets, Mingi wasn’t as intimidated by the costumed people milling around as he was before, and all he could feel was adrenaline rushing through his body.

“Hey, Yunho,” he said.

“Yeah?” 

“I’m going to win you something at one of the games.” 

“Good luck, they’re all rigged.” 

Mingi smirked and cracked his knuckles. “We’ll see about that.” 

-

The activity of the fair died down as the night stretched on, and the crowds were beginning to thin out. Mingi knew, then, it was time to go home.

“I hope the bear makes up for everything,” Mingi said as they walked through the exit. He felt kind of guilty for being such a scaredy cat the whole time. “I know you were excited to go.”

“What are you talking about? I had a lot of fun” Yunho replied. He held a large stuffed bear in his arm and had an equally large grin on his face. He knocked his forehead gently against the side of Mingi’s head. “To be honest, I was excited just to be spending time with you.” 

Mingi smiled at Yunho’s warm words. In the end, he was glad he decided to go. He squeezed Yunho’s hand. “You’re right, it was fun.” 

“I can’t believe you doubted me in the first place,” Yunho said. “I know how to have a good time.” 

As they kept walking, the carnival music faded behind them until it no longer reached their ears, and before they knew it, they stood in front of Mingi’s apartment, both not wanting their night to end. 

“You could…” Mingi started. He brushed his thumb lightly over Yunho’s hand. “You could sleep over, if you want. It’s kind of late..” 

Yunho smiled sadly. “I promised San I’d go home tonight. He needs help finishing a project that’s due tomorrow. The idiot is staying up all night to finish it.”

“Oh,” Mingi tried to think of something to say, but his brain had short-circuited a while ago, mostly likely when he had felt Yunho’s lips against his forehead on the ferris wheel. “Tell him I said good luck.”

“Yeah, but before I go..” Yunho let go of Mingi’s hand and brought it to Mingi’s cheek instead. “I’ve been wanting to do this all night.” 

Yunho leaned forward, searching Mingi’s eyes for any sign of hesitation, and tentatively brought their lips together. 

Mingi’s breath hitched, and he could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. It was perfect, even with Yunho’s giant bear squashed awkwardly between them. 

Mingi pulled away with a small grin. “Stay safe on your way home,” he said. He brushed a few stray hairs out of Yunho’s face. 

Yunho giggled. “Don’t worry, I think we’ve had enough scares for one night.” 

“That’s for sure,” Mingi said. He pecked Yunho’s lips one last time. “Good night, Yunho.” 

“Good night.”

Mingi watched Yunho walk away until he turned the corner and disappeared. With a sigh, he entered his apartment.

That night, he could hear accordion music drifting in and out of his dreams, bright lights flashing around him and hundreds of feet of open air below him. But Yunho was there by his side, a solid, comforting presence. He remembered he was safe with him. He was safe at home.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/Kudos are appreciated if you liked it :)
> 
> Ik it isn't that long, but this is my first time writing a stand-alone one shot in a /while/, so I had a lot of fun with it. I'm looking forward to posting more on ao3 in the future!!


End file.
